All eyes on capital as inauguration draws near

INAUGURATIONAll eyes on the capitalControl center, throngs of police and military bring most security ever

MICHAEL HEDGES, Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

Published 6:30 am, Monday, January 17, 2005

WASHINGTON - While thousands brave the chilly streets of Washington to watch the inaugural parade Thursday and catch a glimpse of President Bush, a select group of law enforcement experts will view the event in a more intense, different way.

At a new high-tech center several miles away in Northern Virginia, agents will stare at plasma television screens and computer monitors showing the oath-taking in front of the Capitol, the parade route and other critical areas. They will see satellite images, radar imagery and video from surveillance cameras on buildings and from fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Others will study three-dimensional computer simulations of potential trouble spots and projections of where toxins would blow if released into the air.

The 55th U.S. inauguration, the first since the worst terrorist attack on American soil took place on Sept. 11, 2001, might be the most security-conscious event in the nation's history, relying on new technology and overlapping layers of law enforcement to protect Bush and other national leaders from a terrorist attack or other harm.

"This is the tightest security plan I believe we've ever been able to set up," said Bob Stephan, a special assistant to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. "We're going to have eyes on all the places (the president) is going to be, and a lot of other places besides."

A new joint operations center planned after the Sept. 11 attacks for so-called national special security events will be operational for the first time, placing all the federal and local law enforcement decision makers under one roof about 25 miles from the White House with instant access to every possible technological innovation, officials said.

A quicker response

"It allows you, if something bad happens, to look across the table at people from the other agencies involved and make instant decisions. It cuts down on response time," Stephan said.

That kind of coordination and communication is vital when combining the efforts of more than 50 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies into an interlocking web of security, officials said.

Planning for the safety of national leaders with a role in the inauguration has resembled a military campaign, and the people involved constitute a small army. About 7,200 military personnel will help with security and logistics at inaugural events, along with 6,000 state, local and federal law enforcement officers.

With the inauguration's approach, there has been an almost unsettling lack of "chatter" picked up by intelligence services that monitor threats, officials said.

Ridge said there was no specific reason to raise the national terrorism alert for the event.

"(But) the fact that the decibel level is down doesn't really mean that we would ever be less vigilant," Ridge said.

"This is the most visible manifestation of our democracy."

Visitors to Washington for the inauguration are likely to feel that they're inside a protective bubble.

Many visitors will encounter bomb-sniffing dogs or specialists in weapons of mass destruction filtering through the crowd with radiation-detection devices.

As in previous inaugurations, they'll see uniformed Secret Service sniper teams on roofs and phalanxes of District of Columbia police officers along the inaugural route. People driving in from hotels in nearby Northern Virginia may spot U.S. Coast Guard vessels patrolling the Potomac River to prevent any attackers from infiltrating the waterway.

That will be a tiny percentage of the security arrangements, which also encompass testing the food of those lunching with the president to controlling the skies over Washington for many hours before and after the event.

"There will be major enhancements to past security plans, but the general public will notice little of it," said Tom Mazur, spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, the agency in charge of inaugural security.

Security drills

The security measures have been unfolding for a year.

As the event neared, leaders of security teams met to drill on handling scenarios such as a suicide bombing or the release of a biological or chemical weapon.

Last week, representatives of all agencies involved in inaugural security met and went over plans a final time.

Sensors will be in place to detect the release of toxins. And the government's explosives experts in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives plan a robust response if a bomb threat materializes.

John Malone, the ATF's special agent in charge for Washington, said two of the agency's four national response teams, composed of chemists, investigators and other experts, will be at hand. Squads of anti-bomb technicians including agents from the FBI, ATF and local police will deal with suspicious packages, which can be X-rayed if necessary.

The security preparations made some unhappy.

D.C. officials protested the federal government's decision to bill them $17.3 million from homeland security grants to cover some of the security costs. Ridge said that was appropriate because the city got the federal money partly to provide security for federal officials and property.

Groups planning anti-Bush protests have grumbled that the tight security plan wedges them into seven designated areas along the inaugural route, diluting their impact.

Protesters restricted

At some inaugurations, protesters ranged freely along the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol.

"They are absolutely attempting to keep us away from public notice," said Mo Alem, a spokesman for the D.C. Anti-War Network, a group coordinating protests this time.

"It isn't about security — they don't want our message to be heard."

Alem said his group would cooperate with police and stick to designated areas. But he said he doubted all protesters will be compliant.

Some anti-Bush activists have called for an "Inaugural Charade" in which protesters filter into the crowd along the route and then turn their backs on the passing president.

Officials said all the overlapping security won't spoil the fun and historical significance of the day.

"A lot of it will be in the background," Maj. Gen. Galen Jackman, commander of the Military District of Washington, said. "I don't think people will feel an encampment mentality."